Persevere
by Hastseoltoi
Summary: After an attack on Alexandria, Daryl finds himself in a cell with one other survivor. Canon slash couple.
1. Chapter 1

He landed hard on his knees, throwing out both hands to catch himself before he face planted too. "Shit." He was already sore from the beating they gave him before tossing him into the cell, and landing hard just made every joint hurt that much more. He took a few seconds to catch his breath before sitting back on his heels and looking around. It was a small cell, but he was surprised that there was only one other person inside.

Daryl scooted toward the nearest wall, watching to see if that other person was going to move or if they had noticed him. When nothing happened he took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. He had been outside of Alexandria with Aaron when they had heard a loud explosion. They couldn't see what had happened, the trees had blocked any view they might have had, so they hurried back to the road and the vehicles. When they got close to the walls they could see that something was on fire, the gate was open and there were walkers streaming inside, and the sound of rapid gunfire came from several directions.

The only reason Aaron hadn't bolted into the walled community was because there were no open paths to get inside. He had been frantic, near panic about what was happening and whether Eric was safe. Everywhere they looked there were people fighting or walkers moving as a herd. They were going to try to circle around from a greater distance, but they were separated in the woods and Daryl was caught. He wasn't sure what happened to Aaron, or anyone inside the walls. He wanted to hope for the best, but experience had taught him that it often was the worst that he could expect.

He looked over to the thin figure in the corner again. He could tell that it was an adult, but that they were slender, probably male though they were hunched over their legs with their head down so he couldn't see much more than that. Except that they were shivering.

"Hey. You okay?" Daryl shifted closer down the wall, using it to brace himself still. "You awake?"

"Daryl?" His name was whispered, but it was Eric that was looking up at him, wide-eyed, "Did they catch you in the woods? Was Aaron with you, is he okay?"

Daryl held up a hand, "Slow down. We came back when we heard explosions, but we were separated outside the walls. He was alright the last time I saw him, so don't panic. What happened at Alexandria?"

"I'm not sure. I was at home. I heard guns but I didn't even get to open the door before someone else came inside. I think they were taking people from all of the houses, but I haven't seen anyone else since they put me here." He glanced toward the doorway, "They didn't say anything about why they were attacking us; they just grabbed me."

Daryl looked at Eric more closely. Even with the shadows in the room he could see that the entire right side of Eric's face was bruised and there was blood on his chin. He wasn't wearing clothing suited for the cold either, which made sense if he was grabbed from inside the house. Daryl shrugged out of his jacket, "Put this on, you're losing body heat sitting on this concrete."

Eric hesitated, staring at him silently for a moment before reaching out and taking the jacket. There was more bruising and blood along the pale skin of his arm. He moved awkwardly as he put the jacket on, but the shivering mostly stopped. "Thank you."

"They beat you?" Daryl moved closer again and Eric didn't seem to mind, "It seems to be their method of dealing with people." He wasn't one to reach out to touch people, not wanting to be touched himself, but he was tempted to grab Eric and pull him closer right now. "Are you okay?"

Eric shrugged, "I don't think anything is broken." It was a non-answer but Daryl didn't want to push. He had the feeling that he might not like the truth. The way that Eric was sitting and the slow way he moved indicated he was in pain but that he didn't want to admit to it. Daryl could understand that far too well, so he let it go for the moment.

There was a long moment of silence and it looked like Eric was going to ask him something several times, but stopped himself. Daryl could guess that it was something about Aaron again, and was glad that he didn't have to guess what had happened. It didn't take long for the silence to become uncomfortable though and Daryl shifted closer again, as Eric gave him a confused look.

"I don't know if they have plans for us, or if they're coming back before tomorrow, but it's only going to get colder, and –"

Daryl trailed off as Eric nodded, "I think I know what you are getting at. Shared body heat is the best way to stay warm. Aaron always told me that." Eric frowned and shivered, "Do you want the jacket back?"

"Not yet, maybe later. We'll see." He shifted closer again until they were finally sitting next to each other.

"Does this feel weird to you?" Eric laughed softly, "This whole day has been crazy and I keep hoping that I'll wake up and it won't be real, and to end up here, with you, like this? It just doesn't seem real. I keep wondering what Aaron would say, and then wondering if he's okay. If he's still alive." He flinched at his own words, "I don't want this to be real."

Daryl nodded, "I know." He shifted slightly, reaching out to tug Eric closer, "I never thought that I'd be doing this. Aaron would understand though; he'd want you to be as safe as possible, under the circumstances. Getting sick because of hypothermia is not the way to stay safe." He waited until Eric nodded in agreement, and then wrapped an arm around the other man, "We should probably get some rest in case they come back soon."

When he woke there was light streaming in from the high window set in one of the walls. The cell wasn't really a jail cell, but a small cement room in the basement of a warehouse, with small windows high along the wall. Narrow windows that were barred against burglars. He had looked them over before it had gotten too dark the night before, and given them up as an escape route. For being in a small, cement room, Daryl was almost comfortable though. He was warmer than he had the right to expect at least.

They had taken his jacket and rolled it as best they could as a make-shift pillow, and then he had slept with his back to the middle of the room, while Eric was next to the wall. Daryl hadn't spooned with anyone ever in his entire life, that he could recall, and he still felt awkward about it, but it had kept them warmer and Eric didn't move around a lot in his sleep. He was idly wondering what Aaron would think about the situation when the cell door was flung open and someone was pushed inside.

It was Aaron, and Daryl scrambled up before Eric was fully awakened by the door slamming shut again. Aaron seemed to have gotten the same treatment that they had already received. His lower lip was split and still bleeding, and there was a bruise under his left eye. He seemed a little dazed, but when Daryl moved toward him he focused. "Daryl?"

"Aaron!" Eric was up and across the room in two steps and Aaron grabbed onto him; they grabbed onto each other Daryl saw. "I thought that- I mean, I hoped, but Daryl didn't know what happened to you."

Aaron looked around the room, over Eric's shoulder, seeing the rolled up jacket. "We don't have a lot of time. I was supposed to let them catch me to see where they brought me, and then the others were going to follow. That was hours ago. They should be here soon." He reached out and Daryl surprised himself by offering his own hand to be clasped, "Carol and Michonne organized a team to come get you and the handful of others that we thought were taken. Someone saw them loading people into a van before they left. Rick is leading the efforts in Alexandria to clear the walkers that got in and take care of the damages. We lost people, but not as many as we first thought. We just have to make it through the rescue attempt, so when you hear gunfire, stay down and stay quiet."

Daryl nodded and grabbed his jacket from the floor. "How did you get through?"

Aaron gave him a wry smile, from over Eric's shoulder, "They didn't catch me in the woods. I went around to the new construction and managed to get Abraham's attention. He covered me when I went over the wall. They had me shooting walkers as soon as I landed on the other side."

He and Eric slowly untangled themselves from each other. "One of the neighbors was the witness to the abductions; I guess Mrs. Aleffson was wilier than anyone gave her credit for because she hid in her attic and watched what was happening. She told me that Eric was one of the people grabbed."

Daryl hunkered down on the floor again, nearer to the doorway, "They got me while I was still in the woods. Didn't even see the fucker before he hit me." He gestured toward the door, "So there are others being held here too? I haven't heard anything from out there."

Aaron nodded, "There were three others taken. Rick thought that it was a lot of effort to rescue just a few people, until he heard that you were missing." There was a story there, Daryl could hear it in Aaron's voice, and he wondered if there was going to be future trouble. If Rick had suggested that it was too much trouble to send a rescue for Eric and a few others, people that Rick wasn't closer to, then Daryl would completely understand the anger. The way that Aaron caught his eyes and then looked toward Eric stopped him from asking for more information though.

"We should sit too." Aaron tugged Eric, gently, toward the wall and they sat close enough to remain in physical contact. Eric didn't seem to want to release his grip on Aaron's hand and he had finally stopped shaking. "We should stay quiet now, and listen for the attack."


	2. Chapter 2

Carol never stopped moving, slipping from yard to yard as she took shot after shot. There were too many targets to be able to stop. When she ran out of bullets she shoved her gun into her thigh holster and grabbed her knife instead, ducking behind Michonne until she could pick her next target. Shooting was nice because she didn't have to get so close, and in a crowd it was much safer, but there was no time to reload until this group of walkers was dealt with.

"Stay close, we're almost there." Michonne's sword had a better reach and she took out two and three walkers with each swipe.

A gun shot rang out from across the street and Sasha waved at them from a second floor window before aiming her rifle again. She started picking off walkers that were at the edge of the small group and soon the last of them was on the ground. Sasha disappeared from the window, but was outside on the yard moments later.

"This is organized isn't it?" Michonne looked grim, "Just like the attacks by the Governor. Just what we need, another sociopath with a vision." She shook blood and gore from her sword.

Carol nodded, wiping her knife blade against her sleeve. It was one of her flowery cardigans, and she had the feeling she wouldn't be needing that persona again. "We need to find the others."

"I think I saw Rick on the next street." Sasha pointed across the row of shrubs, "There are more walkers over there, but I think there were humans who were shooting at our people too. We have to be careful; I know I don't know all of the residents by sight."

"I know most, but wouldn't bet on guessing right every time." Carol sighed, "We'd better keep moving." She paused, letting Michonne take the lead as they made their way to the next street where there was an on-going gun fight still audible.

There were walkers along the street, moving toward one of the houses and Carol could see that there were people in almost every window and that they were shooting. Carl was in one of the second floor windows, wearing his father's old hat, and he hesitated as they rounded the corner. He was the only one who seemed to notice them though, and they just jumped into the fight with the hope that their own people would not shoot them by mistake.

It continued that way until this group of walkers was also taken care of, as well as a few humans that had been using them as camouflage. Carol stayed focused and the time seemed to pass quickly, though she knew that soon it would be dark and if they didn't stop the attack before then that their efforts might all be in vain. They were gathering to clear another street when Abraham, Rosita and Aaron approached.

Aaron was winded, but seemed clear headed. "They are taking people. I think they took Daryl, and one of the neighbors saw them getting others from their homes. They took Eric."

Rick stared at him, "They took people? Why?"

"How the hell are we supposed to know why? They didn't post a manifesto." Abraham swore under his breath, "We have to go now or we won't be able to track them."

"We've still got to clear the city. We don't have time to be tracking down people in the dark." Rick gestured broadly toward the horizon where the sun was beginning to set.

"Rick, they took our people. They took Daryl. We have to do something about that now or it could be too late." Carol spoke firmly, and caught Aaron's eye, hoping that he knew she wasn't ignoring the other name he mentioned. "I have an idea, but it's dangerous."

Rick sighed, "You do what you need to do. I'll stay and try to protect what's left." He looked to his son for a moment before turning to Carol again, "Bring them back, if you can."

Carol sighed as Rick and several of the others started moving to the next street, already beginning to clear the few walkers that were still staggering around. "I have an idea, but like I said it is dangerous. If these attackers are taking people the best way to track them might be to let them take someone else and follow. They've been killing some of our people instead of taking them though."

"I'll volunteer. Maybe if I can get into one of the houses they are heading for they might-." Aaron shrugged, "I don't know. It seems like they were taking people from houses and shooting at people on the street. I've got to try something. I can't just wait here and pretend that clearing the town is going to make everything better. I need to find Eric."

"I'll help." Michonne sheathed her katana and pointed past the block Rick had headed toward, "We cross the next three streets and see what's happening. Maybe if we can get past the fighting we'll find the houses they are looking inside."

Rosita and Abraham both nodded, gripping their weapons more tightly. "We're coming too." Rosita glanced at Abraham and he nodded again, "There's a car over by the construction zone that we can use to follow the van they were putting people into."

"They had a van?" Carol sounded dismayed, "Does it occur to anyone else that this might have been the entire reason for this attack? So they could take some of the residents?"

"It has." Aaron started walking, following Michonne. "As soon as I saw that our house was only damaged from the door being kicked in and a struggle from when they grabbed Eric."

"He'll be okay. If they took Daryl too, he'll make sure that they are all okay until we get there." Carol reached out to touch Aaron's arm, "He knows we wouldn't leave them behind."

"I want to believe that, Carol, but there was blood." He shook his head and started following Michonne again.


	3. Chapter 3

The first gunshots startled all three of them awake from their light dozing. It had taken longer than Aaron had hoped and it had been a long night for all of them. He had been captured just after dusk and they had taken their time with him before bringing him to the small basement room. They hadn't spent all of that time beating him, and they hadn't asked him anything about Alexandria or the people who lived there. Most of the time was spent driving from place to place, and then parking in the dark while they talked in low voices. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but there had been an urgency in the voices and he suspected that they knew that someone was following them.

He was confident that the others had been able to keep following though and that they would lead the rescue charge at any time. It was a little disappointing when he started falling asleep before that happened. Eric still had a death grip on his hand, but it didn't hurt and he was happy to have the connection. Waking without knowing where he was or who was there with him would be worse than a little pins and needles in his fingers. When the gunshot echoed through the room that grip kept them from parting too, and they stayed low to the ground together instead of jolting awake and getting to their feet, which was a very good thing when a bullet went through some of the weak mortar between cinderblocks just above their heads.

Daryl took one look at their faces and flattened himself to the floor, "You might want to think about doing the same." He turned his face to the side so he could watch the door, and Aaron and Eric spread out on the floor behind him.

Eric's breath hitched every time they heard a shot that was close to their room, and he finally let go of Aaron's hand. Aaron turned to stare at him, but wasn't sure what to say when he saw that Eric's eyes were closed. The door was jostled a few times as they heard a scuffle outside and then it was battered in, the loud thunk against the wood making them all scramble to the back of the room.

"Well, isn't this a pretty sight." Abraham swaggered as he entered the room, taking up most of the space that was available.

"Sorry, we didn't have time to dress for your entrance." Daryl got to his feet first, offering a hand to Eric while Abe helped Aaron to stand.

"Well, maybe next time you'll remember." He passed a gun to Daryl, shrugging, "I only have one extra. Carol found a small armory upstairs though. Let's get you out of here." Abraham hoisted his machine gun against his hip and smirked, "This has been fun, but I've got places I'd rather be right now."

He turned and started leading the way down the hall, toward a set of narrow steps. "The group upstairs ran all over the place when we started shooting, so keep your heads, there might still be a few around."

Aaron exchanged a look with Daryl before ushering Eric to follow directly behind Abe and then taking the next position. Daryl took rear guard, checking the gun he had been given to see how many bullets it had. The climbed the steps quickly and quietly and Michonne was there at the top to pass knives to both Eric and Aaron, "Just in case."

Michonne had three others with her, all were residents who had been taken from their homes, and they each clutched knives as well. They looked unsure of themselves and it was obvious that none of them had ever needed to defend themselves before. They huddled close to one another, looking at the four men coming up the stairs with concern.

Abe ignored them, moving toward the closest wall and taking point as they moved toward one of the entrances. "Come on, no time to waste. If they have others out there they could get back at any time. It would be better to be gone before then." He didn't have the patience to deal with the helpless residents and he left them with Michonne as Carol rejoined them.

Carol had a large bag over her shoulder and was holding a familiar crossbow in her hands. She dropped all of it and threw herself at Daryl when she saw him though, burying her face in his shoulder. He grabbed onto her just as tightly.

"I knew you'd be okay, I just knew it but I had to see you for it to be real." She pulled away from him and picked up the crossbow again, "You need to stop losing this thing. One day I might not be there to find it for you."

He took it, shaking his head, "You will be." He tried to grab the bag too, but she took it and slung it over her shoulder again.

"I cleaned out their ammo. Every single bullet I could find in in this bag." She smirked, "Heavy, but I got it as long as we can all get out of here."

"That sounds like a good idea, if the two of you are finished making out." Abraham leered at them from the other side of Aaron, who was smirking. "Can we go?"

Daryl flipped him off, frowning, "Not stopping you."

Abraham shook his head and started toward the door again. They didn't encounter any of the attackers on the way out of the building, but there was another van sitting outside that hadn't been there when they had arrived. Michonne and Carol looked at each other and nodded, each taking a side and slowly making their way toward the van.

Rosita hissed at them from their car though, and they both stopped to head for her position instead. She waved the entire group over to her window. "They went off into the woods, after their own people who were fleeing. Didn't even look at our car." She looked down the line of her own people, doing the math. "Maybe we should steal it. I don't know how we'd all fit in this thing."

"Good idea, think they were kind enough to leave the keys?" Abraham was closest to the van and he looked inside the driver's window. "Maybe this is our lucky day. Keys are still in the ignition." He smirked at the group behind him. "I'll drive."

Daryl shook his head, "I think I'll go in the car then."

"Me too, but only to make sure you actually get back to Alexandria." Carol already had the trunk of the car open and was shoving the bag of ammo inside.

"Whatever, I'm still driving us all back so everyone had better get a seat before we have to make a run for it." Rosita hadn't left her seat in the car, and she checked all of the mirrors for movement as the others scrambled for positions in the back of the van and in the car. Michonne ushered the other kidnapped resident into the back of the van, climbing up after them, and Carol ended up sitting next to Aaron in the backseat of Rosita's car while Daryl took shotgun and Eric was on Aaron's other side.

Rosita gunned the motor, grinning, and sped off before the van had a chance to turn around to follow. She slowed down again before they got too far though, not waiting to be separated. "Does anyone else find this to be slightly anti-climactic? I thought that there would be more resistance here. What were they doing anyway?" She glanced in the rearview mirror and Aaron met her eyes briefly.

"Can we just leave it at this for the moment? I'm sure we'll hear more about what happened and why when we get back to Alexandria, and there will be plenty of work left to get everything put back to rights." Aaron sat back, wishing there was time to relax before they were thrown into trouble again.

Carol sighed, "I'm sure Rick and Deanna will have things for everyone to do when we get home. We'd better keep our eyes open on the way there though, just in case anyone is still looking for us out here. We don't know where all of those people went, but they could be back."


	4. Chapter 4

"We survived." Daryl turned, looking at the houses along the block. Everything seemed so normal, unless you looked really closely and saw the bullet holes in the siding and the trails of blood along the grass. He couldn't stand the thought of being inside, trapped behind walls, so he had volunteered when Rick asked for people to double check, house by house, for any hiding walkers or stray people. Aaron had volunteered to walk with him, and Daryl suspected that he had reasons other than just getting outside. Especially when he saw the look that passed between Aaron and Carol.

"Some people do. We lost people here though." Aaron turned in a circle, looking at the houses that were on either side of the street. "It's funny how we managed to avoid trouble like this for so long, and at any moment all of this could be taken away. I think we forgot that there are dangers out there and we didn't prepare ourselves like we should have been doing. Maybe we shouldn't have been out there recruiting and letting people find out that there was a safe spot here. It only makes others want to take it from us."

Daryl shrugged, "Maybe, but then you wouldn't have found us and we wouldn't have been here to help save Alexandria. There are always chance meetings and people coming across your walls will want to look inside. Maybe the thing we really forgot was that there are a lot of people still alive out there, and that we don't just have to worry about the walkers as long as we have something that other people will want for themselves."

"Your walls? They are your walls too, you know." Aaron shook his head and waved a hand as though clearing the way for another subject. "You know, as much as I think that the residents of Alexandria need to prepare for whatever the next threat might be, I keep thinking that I want to do something completely frivolous to take my mind off of what we just went through. Even one of Deanna's parties would be welcome right now. Maybe we should have an old fashioned city-wide street party and when everyone is in a good mood we can tell them that they need to learn how to use weapons, practice hand to hand defense and start exercising." Aaron laughed, "It might go over better when everyone is drunk."

Daryl snorted, "That wouldn't be a surprise. As long as there were some who were on guard for the walls, and making sure we were safe, it wouldn't be so bad for the rest to relax for a bit. We might want to hold off until we know those people ain't coming back for us though. You should talk to them about setting that up. Get our minds off the attacks."

"I've been meaning to ask you something about the attacks and kidnappings." Aaron turned to face Daryl, looking completely serious for a moment. "So, did you like sleeping with Eric?" Aaron suddenly grinned, stepping out of the way as Daryl threw a fake punch toward him, "Sorry, I had to ask. It was hard not to notice that the two of you were getting cozy on the floor of that room when I got tossed inside. Should I be jealous? You could do worse; he doesn't snore or kick, and he only steals the blankets when it gets really cold."

"Don't be ridiculous." Daryl snorted, starting up the sidewalk again. The town had been cleared, as far as they could tell, and it was starting to feel more like busy work than something that was actually needed.

"I suppose you would rather have been snuggled up with Carol then?" Aaron laughed as Daryl shot him a dirty look. "I'm not blind, and from what I've heard that isn't the first time she's jumped you after rescuing you."

"I'm not talking about that." He wouldn't look at Aaron now either, not wanting to give anything away. "I think Rick's group got all of the walkers and strays. It almost seems like it did before."

"Almost. We haven't had a chance to fix our door yet so every time I go past it I know how close we came to losing everything here." He took a deep breath and turned toward the other side of the street, "I threw out the rug that had all the blood on it though, and maybe one day it won't seem strange not to see it there anymore."

"You'll get another one, some day." Daryl shrugged, "Some things are more easily replaced than others."

"I know." Aaron was quiet again as they walked the next block, "I appreciate what you did for Eric; keeping him safe. I won't forget that."

"All I did was help to keep him warm for a while. It was the others, and you, that got us rescued. I knew that someone would come. I even thought that it would be Carol; she never gives up. You should have seen what she did to the people of Terminus when they had us." He snorted, "People ought to learn not to cross her. Nothing good ever comes of it and we persevere in the end."


End file.
